Executive Coordinator

Position description

Amazon Frontlines (amazonfrontlines.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the Ecuadorian Amazon and focused on the Western Amazon Basin region. We fight the climate crisis by ensuring indigenous stewardship of the Amazon rainforest. We build power with indigenous leaders to form a bulwark of resistance throughout the Western Amazon, working together deep in the forest, in our organizing center in northeastern Ecuador, and in different spaces around the world. Our mission is driven by a commitment to environmental conservation and the empowerment of indigenous communities through partnership, a collaborative movement and sustainable practices.

The Position

The job of the Executive Coordinator is to provide high-capacity organization and coordination skills, knowledge and experience to the executive operations of Amazon Frontlines. The successful candidate must be detail-oriented, creative, flexible, good at prioritization and a natural written and oral communicator (Spanish/English). Experience supporting social impact organizations in a complex multicultural environment, including working with diverse team members, donors and board members is a plus.

The Executive Coordinator will provide constant, high-quality support to the Executive Director, facilitate executive outreach and external relations efforts, and also act as a liaison to the organization’s Board of Directors.

This is an exciting opportunity to be at the center of a dynamic and passionate multicultural network of people who are deeply committed to the fight to protect the Amazon, indigenous cultures and our global climate. You will need to be committed to supporting a successful grassroots movement based on hard work, humility, mutual respect and honest partnership. The job is perfect for someone who wants to apply their experience in an exciting and growing NGO.

This full-time position is able to be remote within the Americas (central time zone) to start, with relocation to Ecuador in early 2025. Regular travel around Ecuador and other locations will be required.

The Ideal Candidate

The Executive Coordinator will have experience in roles related to executive operational and administrative support, public relations and logistics. The person will be prepared to facilitate internal coordination efforts between Amazon Frontlines team members and associated partners, as well as help manage external coordination with international stakeholders. The Executive Coordinator will be a creative, leadership-oriented, organized, diplomatic, people-skilled person with exceptional written and oral communications and a reliable resource within our team, and must be proactive in managing individual workflows with a strong capacity to work autonomously and be able to keep tasks on track and moving forward.

Basic Responsibilities 

In this role, you will provide support to:

The Executive Director:

• Lead the coordination of the Executive Director's responsibilities, helping to ensure that the Executive Director focuses on priorities to advance the organization’s work and objectives.
• Provide a bridge for effective communication and collaboration between the ED and internal departments, maintaining credibility, trust and support.
• Coordinate the spaces and agendas for staff meetings and retreats, and compile and file notes as required.
• Coordinate and filter, and in some cases respond to external communications from the Executive Director such as email and other related communications.
• Be a safe point of support for the Executive Director that provides clarity in decision-making with priorities, in order to protect and care for time and well-being.
• Support the Executive Director with his calendars, meetings and pending tasks.
• Coordinate and schedule meetings/calls across many time zones.
• Support the ED with administrative matters, including helping to book travel and reconciling and submitting expense reports.
• Accompany trips and events in the territory, nationally and internationally, when necessary.

The Amazon Frontlines Board of Directors:

• Support the Board of Directors in their participation with the organization, including onboarding and ongoing support, through regular clear communication.
• Organize board meetings and trips to visit programs, coordinating logistics, collecting and preparing board materials, and assisting board members with travel arrangements, lodging and other items as needed.
• Request, draft and ensure materials for board meetings are prepared and distributed in advance of meetings.
• Maintains comprehensive filing of documentation related to board activities.
• Assist with translation (English/Spanish) as necessary.

The Amazon Frontlines leadership and program teams:

• Support the Development and Fundraising team in relations with donors and allies, identification of cultivation opportunities, support for special events and other responsibilities that contribute to the overall success of AF.
• Support the communications team in identifying opportunities and managing relations with media and key donors and supporters, including providing support for special events, obtaining content for social networks, implementing the social media strategy, and other responsibilities that contribute to the overall success of AF.
• Occasionally provide support to other teams, for example operations, human resources, people & culture, etc., on organizational and coordination issues and attend team meetings as needed.

Special Projects:

• Lead administrative coordination of tasks related to the priority project of the launch of Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson's book and follow up work.
• Support the construction of the annual plan in coordination with the Executive Director.

Essential Skills, Experiences and Requirements:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience, including 1-2 years in an executive coordination and support capacity. Experience in a board liaison capacity is a plus. 
• A general understanding of nonprofit operations and nonprofit board governance.
• Very strong organizational skills, including the ability to multi-task, meet deadlines, manage group workstreams.
• Proven experience as a clear, diplomatic and effective communicator with diverse actors and stakeholders.
• Share the organizational values of Amazon Frontlines and a commitment to working hard and with humility to support our team, Indigenous partners and key stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work autonomously and to independently troubleshoot problems, complete tasks on time and free of errors with the ability to prioritize effectively.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite with experience with CRM and email marketing applications a plus.  

AF is a multicultural and multilingual team. To be effective in your role, you will need to be bilingual in English and Spanish and be able to communicate at a high level in both. 

This role will require domestic and international travel (between 20-40% approximately). You will also be provided with opportunities to travel to the rainforest to meet the partner communities. There will also be times when you will need to work outside of regular work hours.

Application instructions

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